A Tale as Old as Time
by lostbutn3v3rfound
Summary: Upon pissing off the wrong witch, Prince Togami is cursed to be a beast for the rest of his life. That is, unless he finds a certain someone to help him break that curse. Naegami
1. Prologue

**A/N** : Originally posted 8/11/2015. Beauty and the Beast AU for Naegami? How unoriginal can I get? I'm sorry this is so cliche I just... love cliches. The curse itself is paraphrased from the movie.

* * *

Once upon a time in a faraway land there lived a prince who was as vain as he was rich. At 16 his father passed, leaving marriage the only obstaclein between the prince and the crown. Once he wed the crown, the kingdom, and everything that came with it would be his. Naturally, people assumed that the prince would rush to find a bride; however, this was not the case. Years passed as the kingdom sat kingless and the realm suffered greatly.

On his 18th name day his advisors arranged a ball in his honor to help him find a bride. Thousands of women from across the kingdom attended in hopes of impressing the prince and winning his heart but none succeeded.

Thinking that she had a chance of melting the prince's icy heart, a plain looking woman with dark purple hair tied back approached him and curtsied, asking if he would possibly dance with her.

The prince scoffed, rolling his eyes, before not-quite politely declining her offer, commenting on her plain garb and unfortunate face. The woman's eye twitched slightly before the edge of her mouth curled into a polite smile, "I see. It was a pleasure meeting you, my liege," she said before rushing away.

The night grew darker and guests started to leave, realizing that the prince had not found a bride, nor did he show any interest in any of the women there. He had done nothing other than stand on the sidelines and watch, clearly bored.

Once the guests began clearing out the prince decided it was the right time to take his leave to his bedchamber. Before he was able to exit the ballroom he felt a tap on his shoulder and spun around, clearly annoyed. He was shocked to see the plain woman from before standing before him, asking for a moment of his time. He rudely refused her but before he could walk away she caught his hand. When he turned around he realized she looked different, madness swimming in her eyes. Everything about her, from her hair to her clothes, appeared to be disheveled. She glared at him accusingly as she placed her hands on her hips, "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

He raised an eyebrow, clearly uninterested, "The prince. I know who I am. What I do not know is why you felt the need to return to me when I clearly turned you away the first time. I was not interested then and I am definitely not interested now."

"You crossed the wrong witch," she laughed maniacally, her hair whipping behind her, adding to the crazed look she had. "You are spoiled and rotten to the core- the entire kingdom waits for you to wed so they will have a king, but I know the truth. You will never find love because you will never be able to love someone. Not with a heart as ice-cold as yours."

"Are you done yet?" he crossed his arms, tapping his foot, "I have business to attend to."

" _You have no love in your heart,"_ the witch's voice echoed throughout the castle as she spoke, " _and because of that your entire castle shall suffer. You have until your 21_ _st_ _name day to find someone you can truly love and earn their love in return. If you do not succeed, you will remain the beast you truly are forever._ "

As she rushed from the castle, laughing madly even throughout her heartbreak, everyone inside began to transform. While the prince watched his appearance morph in the mirror in front of him, nails growing to claws, coarse hair growing to cover his entire body, his face resembling that of an animal, his servants took the form of household objects.

He slammed the doors of the castle shut, informing his servants that no one was to enter or leave the castle again, despite all arguments that he would never break the curse that way. He knew he would never find someone who could love him, especially not in the form of a monster.

All hope seemed lost in the kingdom. Crime thrived as their ruler locked himself in his castle.

Rumors traveled, some claiming the prince was dead, others saying he was selfish and foresaw coming hardships, choosing to live in prosperity while his kingdom crumbled.

While life in the kingdom turned for the worst, one fact remained the same- the prince stayed in his castle and not a single soul saw him.


	2. Bonjour!

**A/N** You: This story must be abandoned

Me: Just really bad at updating

The long awaited first chapter is here. The story's just getting started, so stick around for actual plot in the coming chapters.

* * *

In a little village on the edge of town, practically undisturbed by the state of the monarchy, there lived a humble family in a modest home. They owned a small patch of land and grew their own crops, keeping mostly to themselves.

The family wasn't particularly special in any way, which held especially true of their elder child. Makoto Naegi, a plain young man of average height and a bit on the skinny side, had no real ambitions nor any skills that would further him in the world outside of the little farming village he called home. In fact, he never really planned on leaving, aside from finding a girl to marry whom he could bring back to the farm and they could raise their family just as his parents did.

Makoto had a younger sister who was very similar to him. She too was nothing special, though, unlike Makoto, Komaru hoped to one day leave the village and start a new life in the bigger city. She also didn't have any special qualities or talents, but that didn't stop her from dreaming. She was restless in the cottage they lived in and couldn't wait to leave.

As the two helped their parents prepare for breakfast one morning, their mother set the table and smiled at the two, "I know you two have been looking forward to going into town soon to help us sell the extra crops," she pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, "but your father and I have been extremely busy and we don't think all four of us should go. Instead, we'd like the two of you to handle this."

Komaru jumped up, her smile bright as she ran over and threw her arms around her mother, "Yes! Yes that would be amazing!"

Naegi sighed in relief, expecting to be told that one of them would have to stay behind. The two ate their meal with their parents in high spirits and afterwards they gathered the crops they were to sell and the supplies necessary for the trip. Their mother kissed them each on the cheek and their father smiled and waved as they rode off in the small cart the family owned.

* * *

Komaru leaned back and stretched her legs, nudging her brother's side and smirking, "So you're excited, huh? Get to see your girlfriend," she teased him.

Holding the reigns, Naegi rolled his eyes and muttered, "She's not my girlfriend. Yet."

"Yet! Yet! Ooh, someone's got plans. Someone's happy mom and dad didn't come along on this trip because someone's gonna spend all his time wooing the prettiest and most stuck up girl in the village," she sneered.

"She's not stuck up," he protested, "She's a very nice girl and I think she might like me back."

The girl of Naegi's dreams was exceptionally beautiful but also very arrogant. Every young man, and even some of the older men, had their eye on her and she knew it.

"Oh, yes. Of course she's gorgeous but remember what mom says— it's the beauty inside that matters. And trust me, she's downright ugly deep down. You haven't heard the way she talks to her little clique."

"And you have?" Naegi stared at her pointedly, not actually believing what Komaru said. She was a sweet girl— everyone knew it.

"As a matter of fact I have."

Naegi flicked the reigns and muttered, "You're just jealous because every guy wants her and no man has ever shown interest in you."

Komaru crossed her arms and muttered something under her breath, choosing not to say anything to her brother for the rest of the trip.

It was about mid-day when they arrived to the first town they were expected to visit and upon arriving Naegi quickly steered their cart to the side of the rode and hopped out, smoothing his clothes and fixing his hair before walking over to the fountain where _she_ stood.

Sayaka Maizono was no doubt a beautiful girl with her big sparkling blue eyes and a golden smile that could make anyone feel butterflies. She and her small close-knit group of friends stood together gossiping, their clothes and hair perfect, their laughs bubbly. Naegi absolutely knew that this was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

As he approached the group he noticed the girls' talking turn to whispers once they noticed him approaching. Sayaka laughed loudly before moving towards him and smiling brightly.

"Naegi, I was wondering when I was going to see you next! You're never in town, it's a shame you live so far away. You didn't come just to see me, did you?" she winked.

"N-no, I mean. I came for business, but also to see you…?" Naegi ran a hand through his hair nervously, blushing slightly. "I'm actually going to be in town for a while today and I was thinking, well, I was wondering if maybe you and I could spend some time together? Alone…?" he said sheepishly, glancing at her friends who merely scoffed and turned away, noses pointed upwards.

Sayaka looked surprised but smiled, "Of course, let's have a chat. Girls, I'll be back in a bit." She gathered her skirt and began walking, "So where did you want to go?"

Naegi turned to where the cart was before answering, noticing Komaru standing by their horse and glaring at him. She gestured to him saying that he had one hour then went back to taking care of the horse and talking to a local girl.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" He followed Sayaka and the two walked side-by-side down the street, talking about their lives and what had been going on recently. Naegi knew that he and Sayaka lived very different lives but he felt a connection between the two of them somehow and he really hoped that she felt the same way.

They had been walking for quite some time when he turned and looked at her, "Sayaka, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" she cocked her head to the side in curiosity, batting her eyelashes, which made the knot in Naegi's stomach even tighter.

"I was wondering…. If you and I.. could maybe see more of each other?" his voice grew quieter as he finished the question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" he cleared his throat, "I…"

Sayaka laughed loudly before covering her mouth with her hand, "I'm sorry, are you trying to court me? Is that what this is?"

"Did you not think that was what I was going for?" Naegi's nerves were worse than ever after hearing her initial reaction— he thought he had been pretty obvious regarding his intentions.

Once her laughter settled down she looked at him with pity, "I assumed it was, but I never thought you'd actually have the courage to say anything to me. Especially since… well…"

"Well what?" he was starting to get annoyed at her reaction.

"Well… you and I aren't the same type of people, Naegi. We would never work out. You're a _farm boy_ and I'm me. We're from completely different walks of life."

"I thought we got along pretty well," he muttered.

She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Of course we get along but I could never _marry_ you. You're a nice boy, but really, I need a man. Now come on, let's walk back to the village. Don't be depressed, you had to know it was going to end up this way."

The two walked together back along the way they came, barely speaking a word. Naegi had never felt more foolish in his life, thinking that someone like Sayaka would go for someone like him. When they arrived he was ready to get into the cart and take off immediately and never speak of what happened to Komaru. He could already hear the "I told you so".

Except the cart was no longer there and his sister was nowhere in sight. He walked up to the young woman he had seen his sister speaking to earlier and inquired.

"Oh, Komaru? She left about 20 minutes ago. Seemed to not be very happy. You're her brother right?" The woman blinked at him absently from behind a large pair of spectacles.

He looked at the large clock in the center of town and sighed, realizing he'd been gone for longer than an hour and was now stranded, "Yeah, I'm her brother."

He glumly walked over to the tavern and ordered a drink for himself, thinking of how he'd made a fool of himself in more ways than one already that day.


End file.
